The ceremony for the winners went by fast. Ryo didn't want to stay there too long. He wanted to find Quinn. After all the trainers spoke with the champions, the competition was officially over. Ryo left the dome building immediately, and Hazel and Dan followed after him.
"Hey! Ryo! What's the rush? Where are you going?" asked Dan.
"He wants to find Quinn. He did leave very suddenly." said Hazel.
Ryo remembered his conversation with Quinn back on the cruise. He had mentioned that he lived in Eterna City. "Do you know the way to Eterna City?" asked Ryo.
"Well, I'm new to this region." said Dan. "I wouldn't know." Rick tapped Ryo on the shoulder, motioning for him to get on his back.
"Do you know the way, Rick?" asked Ryo. Rick nodded and began jumping up onto the trees. The trees around them were large with thick branches, so Rick's weight wasn't a problem. He reached the top of the tree line and scanned the radius. He heard the sound of civilization near, toward the south. Rick jumped back down and beckoned for the three of them to follow him.
Soon, they arrived at the nature filled, Eterna City. People were walking down the streets and there were many stores that littered the town. At the corner was a bike store, where most trainers seem to have gathered.
"So, why did we come here?" asked Hazel.
"Quinn lives here." said Ryo.
"Do you know where in the city?" asked Dan.
"No." said Ryo bluntly.
Dan was now irritated. "Come on! You're telling me you dragged me down to this place, and you don't even know where he lives?" he shouted.
"All Quinn told me was that he lived just outside of Eterna City, in a small cottage." said Ryo as he proceeded down the city streets. Hazel and Dan reluctantly followed. Ryo walked up to a shopkeeper cleaning his windows.
"Excuse me, but do you know of any residents who live just outside this city?" asked Ryo.
"I heard of a house near the north side of town. I believe you can find someone living there. There's a nice little garden around there in the woods. A lot of people from the city go to visit the little garden. It's strange how the garden seems to be kept in a very nice and clean condition. It is believed that the owner lives somewhere near that garden, but no one has ever seen the person. You can go check the place out. Eterna city is a very nice place. I can't imagine anyone else who isn't living inside the city except for the owner of that garden."
"Okay, thank you mister." said Ryo.
"That's a nice garchomp you have there." said the shopkeeper.
"Oh yeah, he's very strong." said Ryo. He didn't bother to mention that it was his Aunt's. The four of them headed up to the north side of town. The shops soon disappeared and they were getting close to the edge of town. The road suddenly ends and all that is left is a very light trail that leads from the city into the woods.
"I don't trust this place." said Dan. "I don't think we should go in."
"No, it's not dangerous at all." said Ryo as he closed his eyes and concentrated. "I sense nothing hostile in those woods."
"Plus, the shopkeeper told us that people would frequently visit the garden. I don't think anything dangerous would be lurking back there." said Hazel. With that, they headed into the woods. Soon, they arrived at a quaint garden. There was all kinds of flowers and plants organized in rows and columns. There was a stylish fountain at the center of the garden, which shot water out in bursts shaped like a circle.
"Wow, what a nice garden." said Ryo. As they look around, they saw all the wild pokemon running around the garden. There were starlys all along the branches of the trees. There were many bidoofs lazing around. There were even kricketots and kricketoons frollicking around. An eevee ran up to Ryo and snuggled against his feet. Ryo bent down to pick up the little furry pokemon.
"Hazel, look! Isn't she cute." said Ryo.
"Aren't we here to look for Quinn's house?" asked Dan. And plus, I know the little runt well enough. Doesn't look like the type of person to have a garden. Ryo placed the eevee back down on the ground.
"Hey, Rick. Can you feel anything?" asked Ryo. Rick shut his eyes and concentrated hard. He was very good at feeling the area for humans. He eventually gave up and shook his head. Apparently the wild pokemon interfered because they were causing too much noise. However, strangely, Ryo sensed something that Rick did not.
"There's a house close by." said Ryo. Ryo began running all of a sudden, across the garden and into the woods on the other side.
"Ryo! Wait!" yelled Hazel as they both chased after Ryo. This part of the woods, behind the garden, was winding and full of thickets and shrubbery. Ryo has spent most of his life in nature back at Twinleaf town, so it wasn't much of a problem for him.
After a few minutes of running, Ryo came upon a gate. It was a small gate that had fencing which stretched through the trees. Before long, Rick caught up to Ryo, followed by Hazel and Dan.
"What is this place?" asked Dan as he saw the rusted gate.
"There's probably a house behind there." said Hazel, pointing to the furnished path that began beyond the gate. Rick went to touch the gate, but it shocked him. Well, he was a ground type, so it didn't really affect him.
"There is electricity flowing through the bars of the gate. We can't climb over." said Ryo.
"Hey, shouldn't we be asking the question, whether this is all worth it? I mean, do we need this Quinn person?" asked Dan. Ryo ignored Dan's comment and whispered something to Rick. Rick nodded, picked Ryo up and with great leg strength, leaped over the gate and landed on the other side.
"Ryo, how do we get across?" asked Hazel.
"Don't worry. I'll be back. You can just wait out there." said Ryo as he ran up the path with Rick.
The two soon arrived at a nice looking cottage, and it was quite large for a cottage. It was two stories and was made of fine wood. Ryo knocked on the door. Almost too suddenly, a small hatch opened up at the top of the door, and a woman's face could be seen peering out.
"Who are you? How did you get past the gate?" she asked. However, after she saw Rick, she kind of knew the answer. "What do you want? Are you here to steal?"
"No! Of course not. I just want to see Quinn, that is, if I have the right place." said Ryo. The woman studied Ryo's face. She could usually tell if someone had ill intent just by looking at their face. All she saw from Ryo was innocence and curiosity. Something told her she could trust the boy.
"Alright, hold on a second." she said as she began unlocking the door. She didn't want Rick to come inside, so Ryo told him to wait at the window. Looking back, Ryo is very fortunate to have such a tolerating garchomp. Ryo entered the house and sat down in the old fashioned kitchen.
"You have a very nice garden." commented Ryo.
"Thank you. It gets lonely living out here, so I had some free time to plant a garden." she said.
"So, where is Quinn?" asked Ryo. "I'd like to see him."
"He's upstairs in his room, probably sleeping." said the woman.
"Are you his mother?" asked Ryo.
"No, I adopted him. But I'm sure Quinn has told you that." she said. Looking back, Ryo remembered that Quinn mentioned her foster mother when they were on the cruise. "Why do you even want to see him? He is very strange and isolated child, I didn't think he would make any friends." said his mother.
"Yeah, he is different." agreed Ryo. "But he seems to be a very good pokemon trainer. He has an interesting personality, and he's pretty nice. He actually helped us a lot throughout the Sinnoh Competition." said Ryo.
His mother sighed. "Quinn left the house around a year back. He just grabbed a few of his things and walked out the door without saying goodbye. I tried asking for him to stay, but he said that it was boring to live here, and that he wanted to go on a journey. He was very obsessed with training pokemon." she said. "I didn't have the influence to stop him, so he left, and I never saw him until today, when he suddenly returned. I was happy to see him, but he was so grim when he saw me. I don't know what happened to him."
"Did he tell you? He left the Sinnoh Competition during the finals, which meant that he gave up his chances to win. I was wondering if he told you why he just left." said Ryo.
"He didn't say anything to me." said Quinn's mother. "He just went right to his room."
"Can I go see him?" asked Ryo.
"Sure. His room is the second on the left." she said. As Ryo proceeded to the stairs, he was surprised to see that Quinn was running down the stairs. He was carrying a bag and he looked like he was going somewhere. When he saw Ryo, he stopped in shock.
"Ryo! What are you doing here?" Quinn asked.
Quinn's mother stood up. "Quinn, where are you going this time? You just came back."
"I'm sorry, mom. But I have to go now." he said.
"Where?!" repeated his mother louder.
"Stark Mountain." said Quinn as he looked down on the floor.
"Stark Mountain?" choked his mother as he sat back down, placing a hand on her head. "Stark Mountain is located at the other side of the region! That is a dangerous place, location of an active volcano. What business do you have there?" asked his mother.
"I can't tell you mom." said Quinn as he walked past Ryo and exited through the front door.
"Quinn, stop!" shouted Ryo as he followed him out to the front lawn.
"What do you want, Ryo?" asked Quinn.
"I just want to know why you just left us. Why did you just run away from the challenge? What did Axel say to you?" asked Ryo.
Quinn was silent for awhile. "I can't tell you that. Trust me Ryo, I will only bring harm to the people who are close to me. Just stay away. I have to go." he said.
"No, I can't do that, Quinn." said Ryo.
"Why?" asked Quinn. Now he was a little irritated.
"Because you're my friend." said Ryo. Quinn was silent again. A friend. Quinn never had a friend before, even though he told himself he didn't need one.
"What...what makes me your friend? What if I don't want to be your friend." said Quinn.
"Well, that's too bad. I know you well enough to care about you, so I'm your friend now. And you have to deal with it." Ryo's answer was a bit of a joke, but he conveyed the meaning loud and clear. He told Quinn that he cared for him. "I know you're going to do something dangerous, Quinn. I can hear it in your voice."
Quinn was surprised at how well Ryo was reading him.
"I don't care if you won't tell me, but all I ask is that you don't do it. Please. You will regret it." said Ryo. Quinn laughed, but not because of the absurd situation, but out of relief. He turned around to face Ryo.
"Tell me, Ryo. What is the real reason you came here today?" asked Quinn.
"I want you to travel with me on my pokemon journey." said Ryo plainly.
Quinn let out a loud sigh. "Okay. I will go with you on your journey." he said.
"YES!" shouted Ryo as he jumped into the air triumphantly. Quinn didn't know what he was getting himself into, but anything was better than what he was planning to do. He seemed nonchalant at the moment, but Ryo was the reason he changed his mind.
"Wait, before we go, you should talk to your mom one last time." said Ryo. Ryo waited with Rick outside as Quinn stepped back into the house. He saw his mother weeping in her hands, but she stopped when she saw Quinn come in.
"Mom, I'm sorry for leaving a whole year without your permission." he said as he sat down next to his mother. "If it makes you happy, I can spend a little more time at home, but Ryo asked if he I could travel with him, and…."
His mother cut him off. "I've been alone for all my life. I just don't want you to be like me." she said. "Go with that boy. I like him, he seems very caring. If he is truly your friend, it would be right in every way if you stick with him. You have my permission to go this time." she said.
Quinn walked up and hugged his mom tightly. "Thank you, mom. And thank you for taking care of me all these years."
"Just be careful." she said.
"Goodbye, mom!" said Quinn as he ran out the door.
Back outside the gate stood Dan and Hazel. "What's taking him so long?" asked Dan. "Why are we doing all this for Quinn?"
"Well, why are you following us in the first place? The competition is over, you can head home."
"I would love it to be that simple, but I don't have a home to go back to." said Dan.
"Huh?" Hazel asked. "What do you mean you don't have a home?"
"I'm a traveling person. Remember? I told you I've been to many different regions. That was not a lie. I use to live in Hoenn when I was young, in Sootopolis city. The city was destroyed when I was very young, around ten years old. My family died during that incident." said Dan.
Hazel's pulse began to speed up as she asked, "What destroyed your city?"
"I'm not sure. I just remember a group of people came in with pokemon I've never seen before. At first, it was a large blue creature that looked like a whale, and then came a colossal red beast. They destroyed the city using earthquake and floods. All I know is that the people were after the blue orb, which was held in that city back then. When they got what they wanted, they left the city burning to the ground and took their monsters with them" answered Dan.
Hazel was familiar with the pokemon Dan just described. "I know those people." said Hazel. Her face leaked anger as she spoke. "Those two large creatures were Kyogre and Groudon. They use to be native legendaries of Hoenn. Those people killed my family as well. Truth is, I had a family before my foster home. I lived in a small village at the coast of Sinnoh. We had possession of the ancient lustrous orb, a stone that belonged to Palkia, another legendary pokemon."
"How do you know all this?" asked Dan.
"My village was very familiar with all the legendaries and they studied them a lot. So it didn't matter that they disappeared. We knew they were real. However, five people came to raid our village. They were known as scouters, who served under a person named the dark lord. They came and butchered many people with Regigigas and the other three titans. They destroyed my village and killed many of my people just to get their hands on the Lustrous orb we had in possession. I was an infant then, so I don't know what happened exactly. I was taken away after my parents died from the incident, and was given to my current foster mother. She was the one who told me all about what happened." said Hazel.
"Was your foster mother also very familiar with the legendary pokemon?" asked Dan.
"Yes, she was. She was the one who educated me about them. They have been causing destruction recently, but it is because they have been corrupted. It's been rumored that the man known as the dark lord has control over all the legendary pokemon. That is why they have never been seen recently." said Hazel. "And by the looks of it, I say that rumor is true. I doubt most legendaries are that violent and will attack innocent humans." She looked down at her necklace and held it tight.
"What is that on your necklace?" asked Dan.
"Oh, this? This creature is known as Dialga, the master of time. This belonged to my father. He says that this legendary is not under the control of the dark lord. I don't know how, but he tells me to make sure not to lose it." said Hazel. As she talked more about herself, she began to remember the real reason she went on this journey.
At that moment, Dan and Hazel saw three figures walking back toward the gate. It was Ryo, Rick, and Quinn. "Hey, you guys! Long time no see!" he said as he pulled the gate open.
"Hey, kid. Why did you leave the competition?" asked Dan.
"I had something more important to do." said Quinn. "But that doesn't matter anymore. So let's go."
"Ryo, I can't travel with you anymore." said Hazel out of nowhere.
"What? Why?" asked Ryo.
"I have some important business to take care of. Please, I need to do this." said Hazel.
"I, also am going to leave. I need to focus solely on training for the Sinnoh League, and I train better alone." said Dan.
"Why is everyone leaving, is it something I said?" asked Ryo concerned.
"It seems that your journey isn't their priority right now. They are trainers as well, and they have their own ways of becoming stronger." said Quinn. Ryo sighed as they began walking out of the woods. The walk back was awkward, for everyone was silent. When the five of them reached Eterna City, they decided to part ways.
"Hey, wait!" shouted Ryo, before Dan and Hazel left. "Let's decide a place to meet up before the Sinnoh League. Let's at least be together before the League."
Hazel thought hard. "Okay, then. We can all meet at Hearthome City. It's in the center of Sinnoh and is the largest city." she said.
"Sure! Then, after a month, exactly, we'll all meet up at Hearthome City. Promise?" said Ryo.
Hazel sighed. "Promise."
"Promise." said Dan as all four of them linked fingers. With that, they bid farewell to each other, and Dan and Hazel left for good. Now, it was just Ryo and Quinn.
"Come one, Ryo. Enough staring, let's start our journey and train. I have to get to eight gyms in a month, so we should get a move on now." said Quinn. As Hazel walked off, she saw her necklace begin to glow. Shocked, she looked at her surroundings. Apparently, she somehow passed by Dialga.
The Adamant Orb was located in Hearthome City. It was in the hands of one wealthy man, who is planning an auction for it. People all around the region came to Hearthome for the major event. The orb weighed a hundred pounds, and was said to be made completely out of diamond. Hearthome City was not going to be a safe place, as the dark lord has his eyes set on getting that stone.